Boulder Dash
Platform: Commodore 64
Gametype: Undefined
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This classic game is about a diamond chase underground with many obstacles. Try - as Rockford - to collect all required diamonds in a total of 16 caves (A-P) each with 5 difficulty levels, and find the exit in the time given. After every 4 caves (D, H, L, P) follows a so-called "intermission", a logical puzzle (without its own "cave letter"). Rockford can dig through the ground and push rocks. But these can also be dangerous. If he stands directly below a rock, Rockford can hold it on his head. But if a rock falls on his head, it will cost him a life. Rocks will not stay on each other or on walls. If Rockford digs away the supporting soil, rocks will start to slide. Furthermore, there are some not-so-friendly animals such as fireflies, amoeba and other things you'd better not touch. Butterflies and other inhabitants of the underground can only be defeated by letting rocks fall on them. When defeated, they turn into diamonds, which Rockford can pick up. As soon as the necessary amount of jewels has been collected (the number is shown in the upper bar), the escape tunnel opens into the next level. Strategy and thoughtful planning is the basis to master this game. 

Design 

2D-screen, which scrolls in all directions. Simple illustration of the character, boulders and other things. Realistic design of triggered avalanches. Sound and music are kept simple. After every scene the current score and the highscore is shown. 

Controls 

in the menu: 

or  F1   = show menu lines 
F3   = change number of players (either 1 or 2 players, after each other) and choose control options (1/2 joysticks). 

/  = to choose a cave (A, E, I, M) 
/  = to choose a difficulty grade (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) 
= start the game with the chosen options 

in the game: 

= Rockford follows the direction of the joystick 
Run/Stop   = to restart a cave. ("ESC" for emulators) 
Space   = to pause/continue. 

Extra life 

Every player has 3 lives. Extra-lives are granted every 500 points. The tunnels Rockford has dug, then glisten briefly. Also an extra-life is granted after succesfully finishing a level. 

Caves and levels 

There are 16 caves, which are marked A to P. Every cave can be played in 5 difficulty grades. 

Caves 

A - Intro: Pick up Jewels and exit before time is up. 
B - Rooms: Pick up Jewels, but you must move boulders to get all Jewels. 
C - Maze: Pick up Jewels. You must get every Jewel to exit. 
D - Butterflies: Drop boulders on Butterflies to create Jewels. 
E - Guard: The Jewels are there for the grabbing, but they are guarded by the deadly Fireflies. 
F - Firefly Dens: Each Firefly is guarding a Jewel. 
G - Amoeba: Surround the Amoeba with boulders so it can't grow any more. Pick up Jewels that are created when it suffocates. 

H - Enchanted Wall: Activate the Enchanted Wall and create as many Jewels as you can. 
I - Greed: You have to get a lot of Jewels here. Lucky there are so many. 
J - Tracks: Get the Jewels and avoid the Fireflies. 
K - Crowd: You must move a lot of boulders around in some tight spaces. 
L - Walls: You must blast through walls to get at some of the Jewels. Drop a boulder on a Firefly at the right time and place to do this. 

M - Apocalypse: Bring the Butterflies and Amoeba together and watch the Jewels fly. 
N - Zigzag: Magically transform the Butterflies into Jewels, but don't waste any boulders and watch out for the Fireflies. 

O - Funnel: There is an Enchanted Wall at the bottom of the rock funnel. 
P - Enchanted Boxes: The top of each square room is an Enchanted Wall, but you'll have to blast your way inside..

Solution 

In this game you primarily need a good strategy, you should study each level thoroughly...  You can escape the falling stones by reacting fast...  Sometimes it is inevitable, that you have to turn butterflies into diamonds to finish a level...  According to reports intermission 3 cannot be solved on the PAL-C64 version, as the arrival of Rockford was delayed for too long due to the frequency (original in NTSC 5/6 faster). As a result the fireflies explode too fast. (not verified yet)... 

Cheat with POKE 16494,169 Boulderdash 3: POKE 15334,250

Trivia

Boulder Dash was so popular on the home computer that it was ported to an arcade version. Usually, it is the other way around; in that a popular arcade game gets ported to the home system.

A real Amiga version of Boulder Dash was never released. But Emerald Mine, a shameless clone of Boulder Dash for the Amiga, became very popular.

Since 19.09.2008 the game is available for download for the Nintendo Wii Virtual Console.

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Description from the packaging:

It isn't easy to find the butterflies in an underground cave, let alone transform them into precious stones. But with your help, Rockford can do it. The real problem is- how do you get him out of there alive?

As boulders crash down all around him, Rockford digs frantically through 16 magical caves and 5 levels of difficulty.

But he needs skillful guidance to drop boulders through an enchanted wall, block the amoeba, turn butterflies into gems. If you think you can do it, you've got rocks in your head. After every 4 caves there is a playable intermission.

Apocalypse. Bring the butterflies and Amoeba together and watch the Jewels fly.

Rooms. Pick up Jewels, but you must move boulders to get all Jewels.

Greed. You have to get a lot of Jewels here. Lucky there are so many!

Firefly Dens. Each Firefly is guarding a Jewel.

In his restless quest for gleaming jewels, Rockford works around walls of rock and avoids swirling fireflies. To win, he must turn his enemies into opportunities! If he collects his requires number of diamonds, the mysterious escape tunnel is revealed.

http://www.c64-wiki.com/index.php/Boulder_Dash
